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Extraordinary X-Men
Extraordinary X-Men. Tom 1. Przystań X
Z inicjatywy Storm X-Men zakładają Przystań X, która ma być schronieniem dla mutantów przed mgłą terrigenową. Jednak nie wszyscy są chętni do współpracy. Jean Grey wcale się nie spieszy, żeby opuścić szkołę. Gdy jednak musi ratować kolejnego mutanta przed atakiem ludzi, przekonuje się, że gra toczy się o wysoką stawkę. W Przystani X trwają też eksperymenty z DNA mutantów i Inhumans, których celem jest znalezienie antidotum na ospę M. Czy mutantom uda się pokonać wszystkie zagrożenia? Tymczasem pojawia się pewien niespodziewany gość. Tym bardziej niespodziewany, że przecież podobno już nieżyjący…
Zawiera: Extraordinary X-Men #1-5.
Zawiera: Extraordinary X-Men #1-5.
120 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2016
17 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,420 books3,882 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
September 7, 2023
Oh X-Men, oh X-Men where art thou? Even Jeff Lemire can't fully revitalise this dying brand as Marvel goes full-force in trying to grow the Inhumans' brand! An undeclared catastrophe sees Terrigen Mists spreading all round the globe creating Inhumans but stifling and sterilising mutants! Also Cyclops may have been responsible, and he's now dead! Storm, Iceman, Forge and Cerebra are the sole X-Men!
This volume sees Storm and co. set out to recruit more X-Men, to manage X-Haven AND face Mr Sinister and his New Marauders. Humberto Ramos's art is getting better (clearer) and Jeff Lemire's dialogue is fine. 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
2019and 2017 read
This volume sees Storm and co. set out to recruit more X-Men, to manage X-Haven AND face Mr Sinister and his New Marauders. Humberto Ramos's art is getting better (clearer) and Jeff Lemire's dialogue is fine. 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
2019and 2017 read
October 27, 2016
As noted in my, shall we say, not-so-polite review of the festering mess that was Secret Wars, there’s a chance that my recent issues (pun intended) with comics have as much to do with my nigh-upon-three-decades of longevity as a comic reader as they do with my objection to editorial-driven storytelling and the endless cycle of major events that both diminish the fun and anticipation of each subsequent event and derail momentum just as books and creators start to get into a groove.
After reading this volume of Extraordinary X-Men, I’m further convinced that my having been in the game for so long is an impediment to my enjoyment of numerous current Marvel titles.
Case in point: the climactic moment of this collection features a fine inspirational speech by Storm, who announces to the world that mutants will no longer hide or cower in fear, but, rather, live out loud—and, while they will defend themselves from all comers, they will defend humans as well, a notion intended to further progress toward Charles Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistence.
That’s all well and good and as it should be vis-à-vis the X-Men, of course, but as I was reading, all I could think of was how many kajillion times I’d read the same speech in an X-title. It’s almost as if it were written with the assumption that the audience hadn’t read more than a couple of years’ worth of X-Men books—and maybe it was. And, perhaps, that’s how it should be, so that newer readers stand a chance of penetrating what can be a seemingly unnavigable morass of continuity.
But, for those of us long-in-the-tooth (but still absurdly handsome and tight-assed…in the sense of having a well-toned backside, I mean, not in the sense of having a stick up there, though there’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose, and these things are not necessarily mutually exclusive) X-Men veterans, reading that sort of speech simply recalls to mind prior instances in which it was done better (or, failing that, we as readers were at a point in our lives—the awkward teenage years, perhaps, not that my late 30s aren’t equally awkward in some respects—at which that message resonated more strongly).
And, so, we’ll call this a very average 2.5 stars, though those less familiar with the X-Men may enjoy it more.
I shall now return to my parents’ basement and resume mouth-breathing whilst flaming noobs on the internets and screaming about how Han shot first.
After reading this volume of Extraordinary X-Men, I’m further convinced that my having been in the game for so long is an impediment to my enjoyment of numerous current Marvel titles.
Case in point: the climactic moment of this collection features a fine inspirational speech by Storm, who announces to the world that mutants will no longer hide or cower in fear, but, rather, live out loud—and, while they will defend themselves from all comers, they will defend humans as well, a notion intended to further progress toward Charles Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistence.
That’s all well and good and as it should be vis-à-vis the X-Men, of course, but as I was reading, all I could think of was how many kajillion times I’d read the same speech in an X-title. It’s almost as if it were written with the assumption that the audience hadn’t read more than a couple of years’ worth of X-Men books—and maybe it was. And, perhaps, that’s how it should be, so that newer readers stand a chance of penetrating what can be a seemingly unnavigable morass of continuity.
But, for those of us long-in-the-tooth (but still absurdly handsome and tight-assed…in the sense of having a well-toned backside, I mean, not in the sense of having a stick up there, though there’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose, and these things are not necessarily mutually exclusive) X-Men veterans, reading that sort of speech simply recalls to mind prior instances in which it was done better (or, failing that, we as readers were at a point in our lives—the awkward teenage years, perhaps, not that my late 30s aren’t equally awkward in some respects—at which that message resonated more strongly).
And, so, we’ll call this a very average 2.5 stars, though those less familiar with the X-Men may enjoy it more.
I shall now return to my parents’ basement and resume mouth-breathing whilst flaming noobs on the internets and screaming about how Han shot first.
August 9, 2016
What a complete and utter shitshow!
X-Men hasn’t been good for a while but Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos’ Extraordinary X-Men is the lowest it’s been in some time. (Deep breath)...
So the Terrigen Mist is still floating around the world despite it being three years since the Terrigen bomb went off. Three fucking years! Isn’t this a gas - why hasn’t it dissipated already?!
The Mist turns those with dormant Inhuman genes into Nuhumans with the new added bullshit detail that it’s now sterilizing mutants so they can’t produce new mutants. Forget that the X-Men/endangered species storyline has been done to death in the past with the Legacy Virus and M-Day which shows how ironic the “All-New, All-Different” label is, but mutants procreating was never how mutants were made in the first place - it was always ordinary humans’ kids who turned into mutants when they hit puberty. Unless the Terrigen Mist sterilizes homo sapiens as well there’s no issue with new homo superiors appearing. Marvel has forgotten/betrayed its own fucking mythos!
Not to mention this takes place eight months after Secret Wars ended for no reason and Cyclops is dead - what?! The adult Cyclops that is - the teen Cyclops is still hanging around. Jaysis, the X-Men’s world is convoluted! Why don’t they tell the story in a linear way so we can see how Cyclops died (not to mention sending the teen Cyclops back to his time)?! But apparently they’re saving that big reveal for the Inhumans v. X-Men story later this year. I can’t wait to not read it!
The premise is bullshit and the story is just as bad: Mister Sinister is experimenting with mutants again. So, basically the thing Sinister always does. The X-Men wind up somewhere to battle fire-breathing dragons and Ice-Man is dismayed when his snowman army does fuck-all against them. What a genius not figuring out that fire beats ice. “Chill, guys, I got this. Get it? Chill? Gee, tough crowd” - no, Bobby, it’s just the same shit joke you’ve told for the last 50 years. Get some new material or shut the fuck up. And Old Man Logan is in this because why start making sense now?
Jeff Lemire, man - this guy needs to stop writing superhero comics. He’s so bad at them! Especially X-Men comics where he doesn’t even seem to understand the source material. This book is mind-bogglingly awful. It’s extraordinary alright - extraordinarily shite!
X-Men hasn’t been good for a while but Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos’ Extraordinary X-Men is the lowest it’s been in some time. (Deep breath)...
So the Terrigen Mist is still floating around the world despite it being three years since the Terrigen bomb went off. Three fucking years! Isn’t this a gas - why hasn’t it dissipated already?!
The Mist turns those with dormant Inhuman genes into Nuhumans with the new added bullshit detail that it’s now sterilizing mutants so they can’t produce new mutants. Forget that the X-Men/endangered species storyline has been done to death in the past with the Legacy Virus and M-Day which shows how ironic the “All-New, All-Different” label is, but mutants procreating was never how mutants were made in the first place - it was always ordinary humans’ kids who turned into mutants when they hit puberty. Unless the Terrigen Mist sterilizes homo sapiens as well there’s no issue with new homo superiors appearing. Marvel has forgotten/betrayed its own fucking mythos!
Not to mention this takes place eight months after Secret Wars ended for no reason and Cyclops is dead - what?! The adult Cyclops that is - the teen Cyclops is still hanging around. Jaysis, the X-Men’s world is convoluted! Why don’t they tell the story in a linear way so we can see how Cyclops died (not to mention sending the teen Cyclops back to his time)?! But apparently they’re saving that big reveal for the Inhumans v. X-Men story later this year. I can’t wait to not read it!
The premise is bullshit and the story is just as bad: Mister Sinister is experimenting with mutants again. So, basically the thing Sinister always does. The X-Men wind up somewhere to battle fire-breathing dragons and Ice-Man is dismayed when his snowman army does fuck-all against them. What a genius not figuring out that fire beats ice. “Chill, guys, I got this. Get it? Chill? Gee, tough crowd” - no, Bobby, it’s just the same shit joke you’ve told for the last 50 years. Get some new material or shut the fuck up. And Old Man Logan is in this because why start making sense now?
Jeff Lemire, man - this guy needs to stop writing superhero comics. He’s so bad at them! Especially X-Men comics where he doesn’t even seem to understand the source material. This book is mind-bogglingly awful. It’s extraordinary alright - extraordinarily shite!
June 2, 2016
I'm not terribly thrilled with the position Marvel's mutants are in now. I guess somebody decided that life was just too damn easy for them before Secret Wars, so they've rolled back to the most dire possible position for the X-Men. Have you missed the Legacy Virus? Good news! There's now the M-Pox, apparently caused when mutants are exposed to Terrigen mists which are, after all, basically everywhere. Feeling like mutants weren't nearly hated and feared enough before? Lucky you! We're now back at a point where mutants are persecuted to the point where they might be killed on sight, sometimes legally by the police or military forces of their own countries. Pining for the days of Decimation? Terrigen poisoning also means no new mutants! One of the side effects of exposure for mutants is sterilization, which obviously means that no mutants will be born despite the fact that virtually every known mutant currently in operation was born from human parents. Remember when the X-Men were hiding out in Australia? Well, that was just too damn easy, so now they're hiding in freaking Limbo. It's, um, a lot to throw at the group literally right away. Oh, wait, I also forgot that at some point in the recent past, during that handy time skip after Secret Wars, Cyclops was killed in some sort of attack on the Inhumans because... Well, this book didn't feel free to give the details. Plus, Old Man Logan has been added to the group from, um, the Old Man Logan-verse (forget it, it's Secret Wars) and Nightcrawler is mysteriously... let's go with mentally unstable. I did say that it was a lot to absorb. Too much? Maybe. It does feel a bit like piling on, even before the Limbo reveal.
But Lemire did a reasonably good job with the setup he was handed. He keeps the focus solidly on a handful of likeable mutants, even including a few of the younger mutants to keep it from being an entirely old folks club. I appreciated that Bobby got to be a badass. The Iceman army was pretty damn cool. And I actually liked the growing relationship between old Logan and young Jean. He's always been a great surrogate father to teenage girls. Yes, it is an almost overwhelming amount of crap to heap on an already screwed group, but Lemire kept it from being totally overwhelming. But yes, I do still wish that at least one or two of those elements had been left alone.
But Lemire did a reasonably good job with the setup he was handed. He keeps the focus solidly on a handful of likeable mutants, even including a few of the younger mutants to keep it from being an entirely old folks club. I appreciated that Bobby got to be a badass. The Iceman army was pretty damn cool. And I actually liked the growing relationship between old Logan and young Jean. He's always been a great surrogate father to teenage girls. Yes, it is an almost overwhelming amount of crap to heap on an already screwed group, but Lemire kept it from being totally overwhelming. But yes, I do still wish that at least one or two of those elements had been left alone.
February 6, 2016
The fate of mutantkind is once again in peril. The release of the terrigen cloud when Attilan fell has had unexpected consequences on mutants. The terrigen makes mutants sick with a disease called M-Pox. Storm has relocated the Jean Grey in order to protect as many mutants as possible from the cloud and the disease.
As always the X-Men can't simply hide themselves when something sinister is afoot.
I have to say my immediate thought when I heard the storyline for X-Haven was Marvel Studios was flexing their muscles with the Inhumans while casually threatening Fox that they can exterminate all the mutants from the comics. I can't say that there weren't moments that confirmed that thought, but I have to admit they did a good job with the story. An interesting group of X-Men were chosen with Storm as their leader and things get wilder as the story progresses.
While the disease and mutant extinction storylines are far from unique the world has changed due to Inhuman interference. They are mentioned everywhere and even when rampaging characters display crazy powers the question is now Inhuman or mutant. Thanks to the M-Pox mutants still are the more hated group though. Which seems unbelievable since the Inhumans were the cause of the terrigen cloud.
X-Haven was a good story and I look forward to where the Extraordinary X-Men head next.
As always the X-Men can't simply hide themselves when something sinister is afoot.
I have to say my immediate thought when I heard the storyline for X-Haven was Marvel Studios was flexing their muscles with the Inhumans while casually threatening Fox that they can exterminate all the mutants from the comics. I can't say that there weren't moments that confirmed that thought, but I have to admit they did a good job with the story. An interesting group of X-Men were chosen with Storm as their leader and things get wilder as the story progresses.
While the disease and mutant extinction storylines are far from unique the world has changed due to Inhuman interference. They are mentioned everywhere and even when rampaging characters display crazy powers the question is now Inhuman or mutant. Thanks to the M-Pox mutants still are the more hated group though. Which seems unbelievable since the Inhumans were the cause of the terrigen cloud.
X-Haven was a good story and I look forward to where the Extraordinary X-Men head next.
June 14, 2022
The series seems to be a bit of a rehash of what's come before. There's "No More Mutants"... again. Mutants are diseased... again. So the story is that mutants are being hunted down and even worse off than they were before. Now they are lower than Inhumans (as if there would be a difference to the average layperson.) They're now sterile and people think they have something called M-Pox. Although the story doesn't lend itself to whether this is actually true or not.
I almost feel like Marvel will kill off all the mutants and replace them with Inhumans just to thwart Fox at this point. And then we have all this time travel stuff. Ugh! Too much and too confusing. Now Old Man Logan is part of the main stream Marvel U? They've taken what was a great stand alone story and watered it down to the point I no longer care. There's really very little difference between Marvel and DC at this point.
I almost feel like Marvel will kill off all the mutants and replace them with Inhumans just to thwart Fox at this point. And then we have all this time travel stuff. Ugh! Too much and too confusing. Now Old Man Logan is part of the main stream Marvel U? They've taken what was a great stand alone story and watered it down to the point I no longer care. There's really very little difference between Marvel and DC at this point.
January 18, 2016
The gang is back together and Lemire is at the helm. I'm a long time X fan and a pretty big Lemire fan so this book should be like the best goddamn ice cream Sunday a guy like me could have!
It's not, though. The ice cream is kind of melted, and the sprinkles are stale and mushy.
This first arc is pretty much dedicated to getting the team set up. Other than that, the storyline is pretty 'mutant generic'. The world hates and distrusts Mutants, the X-Men are hiding out and finally decide that they have to take a stand...blah, blah, fucking, blah.
Been there, done that.
I have hope, though. While this first volume certainly didn't bring anything new to the plate, I enjoyed the team dynamic, also, with Secret Wars (finally) out of the way I am chomping at the bit for some fresh air in the series. With Jeff Lemire on writing duty, I am hoping he has plans to take this book in a more refreshing direction.
My fingers are crossed for the next volume.
It's not, though. The ice cream is kind of melted, and the sprinkles are stale and mushy.
This first arc is pretty much dedicated to getting the team set up. Other than that, the storyline is pretty 'mutant generic'. The world hates and distrusts Mutants, the X-Men are hiding out and finally decide that they have to take a stand...blah, blah, fucking, blah.
Been there, done that.
I have hope, though. While this first volume certainly didn't bring anything new to the plate, I enjoyed the team dynamic, also, with Secret Wars (finally) out of the way I am chomping at the bit for some fresh air in the series. With Jeff Lemire on writing duty, I am hoping he has plans to take this book in a more refreshing direction.
My fingers are crossed for the next volume.
December 10, 2022
From what I've heard the X-Men Titles of this time, are not that great. And while I did not hate this, I really wasn't a fan either. There was really only two things that I liked. Let's start with those, shall we?
I thought the interactions between Old Logan and Young Jean Grey were really sweet. The only other thing that I liked was the art. It's not for everyone, but I thought it looked cool especially in the action scenes.
As everyone else on here has already said, the plot is insanely generic. It's something we all have seen a million times in X men media. The humans hate the Mutants once again and want to kill them because they think there dangerous. The only thing that makes this mildly interesting thing, is that the terrigyn mist is making the mutants sick. You would think a writer like Jeff Lemire could do better. But I guess not.
I only read this because the had it at my library and it looked interesting. It's readable, but there are better X men stories to read. I probably won't be continuing this series.
I thought the interactions between Old Logan and Young Jean Grey were really sweet. The only other thing that I liked was the art. It's not for everyone, but I thought it looked cool especially in the action scenes.
As everyone else on here has already said, the plot is insanely generic. It's something we all have seen a million times in X men media. The humans hate the Mutants once again and want to kill them because they think there dangerous. The only thing that makes this mildly interesting thing, is that the terrigyn mist is making the mutants sick. You would think a writer like Jeff Lemire could do better. But I guess not.
I only read this because the had it at my library and it looked interesting. It's readable, but there are better X men stories to read. I probably won't be continuing this series.
February 21, 2016
So repetitive of the last ten years: mutants on the brink of destruction! Headquarters relocated to former villain base! Attack on the school! Dead character(s) back to life as living weapons! Cerebra in sentient form! Bare midriffs/ tube tops for the women!
What everyone since Grant Morrison has gotten wrong is the wallowing in derivative ideas. And maybe giving the audience something "familiar" works on a sales level, but I'd like to see something new. And by "new," I don't mean Inhumans.
Zzzzzz...without anything new to add to the canon, wow, this is just bad on every single level. Lemire should return to the more personal stories he did, pre-"Big 2," because this one is a soulless cash grab and nothing more.
What everyone since Grant Morrison has gotten wrong is the wallowing in derivative ideas. And maybe giving the audience something "familiar" works on a sales level, but I'd like to see something new. And by "new," I don't mean Inhumans.
Zzzzzz...without anything new to add to the canon, wow, this is just bad on every single level. Lemire should return to the more personal stories he did, pre-"Big 2," because this one is a soulless cash grab and nothing more.
December 1, 2021
This was pretty good!
X-Men are again dying due to terrigen mists and well Storm is the leader and X-haven the new mutant rescue place is in the Limbo dimension and I love the setting of the story and the consequences of Cyclops action and all that it entails.
The next best thing is focusing on how their recruitment goes and the coming of Young Jean and OML and yeah it can be confusing for new readers, its really well done here and then we see the team fighting Limbo monsters and all the drama there and then teaming up with Colossus and Magik to fight Mr Sinister and a cyclops-inhuman clone and that was a cool twist and all but its the drama dn the rescue of Nightcrawler that I loved!
Its a very drama filled book and some elements like extinction will feel similar but what I like are the slow approach the book takes and delves into the psyche and weird history of the characters and giving you an epic team to root for! I remember reading it in single issues when it came out and loving the art still as its very different but very comic-y which is what it should be. So yeah a recommendation!
X-Men are again dying due to terrigen mists and well Storm is the leader and X-haven the new mutant rescue place is in the Limbo dimension and I love the setting of the story and the consequences of Cyclops action and all that it entails.
The next best thing is focusing on how their recruitment goes and the coming of Young Jean and OML and yeah it can be confusing for new readers, its really well done here and then we see the team fighting Limbo monsters and all the drama there and then teaming up with Colossus and Magik to fight Mr Sinister and a cyclops-inhuman clone and that was a cool twist and all but its the drama dn the rescue of Nightcrawler that I loved!
Its a very drama filled book and some elements like extinction will feel similar but what I like are the slow approach the book takes and delves into the psyche and weird history of the characters and giving you an epic team to root for! I remember reading it in single issues when it came out and loving the art still as its very different but very comic-y which is what it should be. So yeah a recommendation!
April 11, 2017
I always thought.. Ramos on Spidey.. Cool. Ramos on X-Men? .. Nope. I had low expectations but it won me over. Ramos did good. Storm finally does something new with her powers!
August 2, 2016
Not bad. More of an "establishing" volume: Previously, Cyclops did something very bad, basically putting mutants back to the top of everyone's hate list. Storm is setting up a new team, trying to keep the dream alive. This volume also brings back "classic" Mr. Sinister, not that odd guy that Gillen wrote.
It has that familiar feel of the Claremont era where everyone hates them, there's the familial joking and camaraderie. There's also the gratuitous fight scene, resulting from one of the worst decisions ever, which could be seen from a mile away.
It's a little too soon to tell about how this will go. A new X-Men team is not unusual, albeit this one technically has most of the Claremont/Byrne era characters although the characters themselves have been altered over time (Old Man Logan vs. well, just "regular" Logan). Everything is setup to get back to that era, but we'll have to see if Lemire is up to the task. I'm still not sold on his writing so we shall see.
It has that familiar feel of the Claremont era where everyone hates them, there's the familial joking and camaraderie. There's also the gratuitous fight scene, resulting from one of the worst decisions ever, which could be seen from a mile away.
It's a little too soon to tell about how this will go. A new X-Men team is not unusual, albeit this one technically has most of the Claremont/Byrne era characters although the characters themselves have been altered over time (Old Man Logan vs. well, just "regular" Logan). Everything is setup to get back to that era, but we'll have to see if Lemire is up to the task. I'm still not sold on his writing so we shall see.
January 27, 2016
A rushed reboot playing back on the same general things X-Men has used for years. With that said, I still enjoyed it. I hope they take it in a new direction from here. As for this collection, I loved the artwork. It's beautiful. Not the strongest start, but I'm still going to read it. Spoiler thoughts down below.
April 6, 2017
2,5*
All's in the rating. Neither really good nor particularly bad.
Mutants are once again on the verge of extinction because of a virus, apparently originating in the terrigen mists. Everybody hates them, they'll have to fight to survive and impose their humanitarian views.
Storm leads a composite band of X-Men (adult Bobby, young Jean, Illyana, Piotr, Kurt, Forge and old man Logan) and tries to make former Xavier's school a haven for mutants refugees. Its current location is at the same time original and stupid, btw.
Sinister grafts itself on this and experiments on mutants/inhumans' DNA to try and save the species and supposedly for some sinister reasons. Gosh, I'm thrilled...
So, yes, not much new under the sun. But it's not really badly written. Maybe Lemire will develop something a little bit more above average in his next arc. Fingers crossed.
Artwise, Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba start quite well with some good panels and solid black inking before getting slopply and scratchy after a few issues. A more constant effort would have rated a more solid 3*.
All's in the rating. Neither really good nor particularly bad.
Mutants are once again on the verge of extinction because of a virus, apparently originating in the terrigen mists. Everybody hates them, they'll have to fight to survive and impose their humanitarian views.
Storm leads a composite band of X-Men (adult Bobby, young Jean, Illyana, Piotr, Kurt, Forge and old man Logan) and tries to make former Xavier's school a haven for mutants refugees. Its current location is at the same time original and stupid, btw.
Sinister grafts itself on this and experiments on mutants/inhumans' DNA to try and save the species and supposedly for some sinister reasons. Gosh, I'm thrilled...
So, yes, not much new under the sun. But it's not really badly written. Maybe Lemire will develop something a little bit more above average in his next arc. Fingers crossed.
Artwise, Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba start quite well with some good panels and solid black inking before getting slopply and scratchy after a few issues. A more constant effort would have rated a more solid 3*.
August 27, 2017
This was a big old meh bowl. So after the events of Secret Wars the X-Men are back together. Well kind of, least Storm is trying to pull them together. He goes to Jean who's in school and is like "We need you girl!" and got Old Man Logan who they need his help too. So then together they must band together and fight back against bad guys!
What I liked: Jean and Logan together is nice. I enjoy their chemistry and it's the highlight of this. Especially seeing Old Man Logan's regret. Also, Iceman got some funny lines.
What I didn't like: The villains are nameless nobodies. Storm seems like a broken teacher. Cyclops is somehow dead, and died off screen, and is just mentioned. The art is sloppy at times and the fights can be hard to follow.
Yeah overall this is nothing special. I don't think I'll continue this series because this looks like the highest rated one in the series. Owell, they can't all be winners!
What I liked: Jean and Logan together is nice. I enjoy their chemistry and it's the highlight of this. Especially seeing Old Man Logan's regret. Also, Iceman got some funny lines.
What I didn't like: The villains are nameless nobodies. Storm seems like a broken teacher. Cyclops is somehow dead, and died off screen, and is just mentioned. The art is sloppy at times and the fights can be hard to follow.
Yeah overall this is nothing special. I don't think I'll continue this series because this looks like the highest rated one in the series. Owell, they can't all be winners!
April 9, 2018
Pretty decent start to things.
February 1, 2017
Okay, so I really liked this book, but in this case liking is not recommending. There's a general stigma around X-Men that hiring Brian Michael Bendis to revamp the line several years ago (which didn't even turn out so great) was the last time Marvel made an kind of honest effort to make the X-titles good. This is possibly true.
The funny thing is that, all things considered, Extraordinary writer Jeff Lemire would never be considered a chump. Do you know how many times someone recommends Essex County or Sweet Tooth to me, bro? Do you know? A LOTTA LOTTA TIMES, BRO. People friggin' love Jeff Lemire. I don't, but I hate everything and you know that.
The point is that not everyone is built to write X-Men, and Jeff Lemire is one of those not-people. Dude cannot write X-Men.
It doesn't help that X-Haven follows Marvel's gimmicky non-event, in which they stopped publishing for a few months following their world-rebooting Secret Wars, and when they picked things back up, time had gone by in each titles' storyline and the MYSTERY is what happened while we were gone omg. (DC tried this exact same thing in 2006 with their One Year Later non-event that followed their world-rebooting Infinite Crisis, and you know what? I totally get why you don't read comics now. Comics are terrible, good lord, they are stupid, I got dumber writing this paragraph.)
Anyway, so when X-Haven picks up, TIME HAS PASSED and PEOPLE HAVE DIED and THERE ARE MYSTERIES and Jeff Lemire really can't do anything about it but shit the bed. The problem is that X-Men comics are like a bad soap opera anyway, with psychotically dense continuity made more complicated with the sheer number of X-titles out there to follow along with. Lemire really tries to distinguish the intentional secrets of the series' time lapse from the unintentional complications of normal insane X-continuity, and my fiancée and I still had to have a sit-down chat about which alternate universe Nightcrawler was being featured here, if any, and what exactly happened to alternate future Wolverine, and why Mr Sinister is living the Manhattan sewers, and even between us we had no idea, really, and finally concluded that Jeff Lemire is not really writing this book so much as trying desperately not to shit the bad too hard, or with too much blood involved.
The only thing that Lemire is able to write coherently is the burgeoning love story between teenage Jean Grey and senior citizen Wolverine, and I'm telling you bro? That's not something to be proud of.
Anyway. BUT.
You're saying right now, you're saying, "BRO, WHY YOU GIVE THIS FOUR STARS BRO? SOUNDS LIKE THIS BOOK SHIT THE BED."
And you'd be right.
And now I need to talk to you about Humberto Ramos.
I first encountered Humberto Ramos on The Hunger, one of like 3 Spider-Man comics I own. And dear lord. It's not just that I love Humberto Ramos. I have no idea how good he even is? But lord God in Heaven -- Humberto Ramos paired with a good colorist is like angels weeping. It's like the biggest-budget anime Disney film of all time, in 3D, IN YOUR MIND.
Humberto Ramos draws this book, and it doesn't matter that the story is a turd sandwich, because in this story THE X-MEN ARE ALIVE. I know they are alive because I have seen the perspiration on their brows and smelled the sizzle of lightning from their fingers. I know that no shitty plot in the universe could hide the fact that X-MEN ARE REAL.
Humberto Ramos and colorist Edgar Delgado save this book. Not just save it, but let it briefly dance in the playground of the gods.
Otherwise, I agree, it's crap. Go buy something else.
The funny thing is that, all things considered, Extraordinary writer Jeff Lemire would never be considered a chump. Do you know how many times someone recommends Essex County or Sweet Tooth to me, bro? Do you know? A LOTTA LOTTA TIMES, BRO. People friggin' love Jeff Lemire. I don't, but I hate everything and you know that.
The point is that not everyone is built to write X-Men, and Jeff Lemire is one of those not-people. Dude cannot write X-Men.
It doesn't help that X-Haven follows Marvel's gimmicky non-event, in which they stopped publishing for a few months following their world-rebooting Secret Wars, and when they picked things back up, time had gone by in each titles' storyline and the MYSTERY is what happened while we were gone omg. (DC tried this exact same thing in 2006 with their One Year Later non-event that followed their world-rebooting Infinite Crisis, and you know what? I totally get why you don't read comics now. Comics are terrible, good lord, they are stupid, I got dumber writing this paragraph.)
Anyway, so when X-Haven picks up, TIME HAS PASSED and PEOPLE HAVE DIED and THERE ARE MYSTERIES and Jeff Lemire really can't do anything about it but shit the bed. The problem is that X-Men comics are like a bad soap opera anyway, with psychotically dense continuity made more complicated with the sheer number of X-titles out there to follow along with. Lemire really tries to distinguish the intentional secrets of the series' time lapse from the unintentional complications of normal insane X-continuity, and my fiancée and I still had to have a sit-down chat about which alternate universe Nightcrawler was being featured here, if any, and what exactly happened to alternate future Wolverine, and why Mr Sinister is living the Manhattan sewers, and even between us we had no idea, really, and finally concluded that Jeff Lemire is not really writing this book so much as trying desperately not to shit the bad too hard, or with too much blood involved.
The only thing that Lemire is able to write coherently is the burgeoning love story between teenage Jean Grey and senior citizen Wolverine, and I'm telling you bro? That's not something to be proud of.
Anyway. BUT.
You're saying right now, you're saying, "BRO, WHY YOU GIVE THIS FOUR STARS BRO? SOUNDS LIKE THIS BOOK SHIT THE BED."
And you'd be right.
And now I need to talk to you about Humberto Ramos.
I first encountered Humberto Ramos on The Hunger, one of like 3 Spider-Man comics I own. And dear lord. It's not just that I love Humberto Ramos. I have no idea how good he even is? But lord God in Heaven -- Humberto Ramos paired with a good colorist is like angels weeping. It's like the biggest-budget anime Disney film of all time, in 3D, IN YOUR MIND.
Humberto Ramos draws this book, and it doesn't matter that the story is a turd sandwich, because in this story THE X-MEN ARE ALIVE. I know they are alive because I have seen the perspiration on their brows and smelled the sizzle of lightning from their fingers. I know that no shitty plot in the universe could hide the fact that X-MEN ARE REAL.
Humberto Ramos and colorist Edgar Delgado save this book. Not just save it, but let it briefly dance in the playground of the gods.
Otherwise, I agree, it's crap. Go buy something else.
October 25, 2016
much better than i was expecting. Lemire manages to tie together a lot of storylines mixed with some good action, it was a solid book. X-haven is now run by Storm because she is protecting the mutants from the terrigen mist and X-pox. Magik is off looking for the last of the mutants but gets caught by Mr Sinister and his Marauders. Old Man Logan continues in this issue as well and I thought it was nicely done. Logan is hesitant to help the x-men, rightfully after Mysterio duped him into killing them all in the future. Fittingly is takes Jean to convince him and herself to help the x-men. Mr Sinister also has a surprise he is working on that involves as he says " saving the mutant race" lets just say it has x-men and Inhuman DNA. The monster Mr sinister creates battles Logan and the x-men and it has some cool panels. Colossus meanwhile is battling Mr Sinister which is also a cool battle. I especially like watching Ice man use his omega powers creating the clones and use the ice hulk too, his jokes are still cheesy tho. Ramos has some talent on the art its pretty good, some panels are a bit funky but I like his style for most of it.
This book ties together a lot of stories including new x-men, amazing x-men, old man logan, and a bit of Inhumans. thats a big task that I think Lemire did a good job on. For "new" x-men stuff it a damn good book. However you have to be somewhat up to speed on the above series i mentioned.
This book ties together a lot of stories including new x-men, amazing x-men, old man logan, and a bit of Inhumans. thats a big task that I think Lemire did a good job on. For "new" x-men stuff it a damn good book. However you have to be somewhat up to speed on the above series i mentioned.
July 6, 2018
I had pretty low expectations for this book (All X-Men books after Marvel started to push the Inhumans to replace them)
I love that Storm is leading the X-Men, but she is written pretty immature she just kept repeating 'To me, my XMen!
The Terrigen Mists and the tension with the Inhumans is interesting, but again it was just push the Inhumans to replace the X-Men.
Hopefully thats about to change now that Marvel has acquired the rights of the X-Men. And thats pretty much the reason I could enjoy reading this, knowing that it might change with the future Blue,Gold and Red X-Men books coming out.
Still have Uncanny X-Men: Superior and All New X-men Inevitable to read but i'm probably not gonna finish the entire run.
February 22, 2017
I don't want to waste too much energy thinking about this one. This was bad. Lemire's dialogue comes off as strained and inauthentic. Half the book is dedicated to assembling the team featured on the cover of issue one, and is a total waste of time. The thing with Logan and Jean is weird for all the worst reasons. Forge is a totally different character than when I saw him last, and what's with Nightcrawler? That's weirdly just not addressed from what I can tell, and didn't he sort of lose his faith in Aaron's Amazing? Also, I like Ramos fine on most projects, but this book was really busy and cluttered with dialogue balloons. His goofy, cartoon style was atonal, and communicated action poorly.
This is a crushing disappointment from creators I respect and a team I adore.
This is a crushing disappointment from creators I respect and a team I adore.
November 13, 2016
I heard that Marvel basically wants to kill the X-Men off and replace them with the Inhumans or somehow combining them and based on this volume I can totally belief that.
This was just totally stupid, and screams of being forced. And trust me, that was obvious just from the first few pages. You see, I am pretty sure that Illyana could have teleported that family out of there quicker and so would not get shot and not killed a bunch of people. Because if mutants are feared once again so much, her actions will only make it worse. I get that she would ask the little girl if she wants to come with her, but could she not have done that later? Not to mention that they talk about this being "after what Scott did." Wasn't Illyana also part of his team of phoenix power X-Men? Or was there something else that he did? Because if the former did not make people freak out I wonder what did.
Plus if Illyana cannot keep the X-haven safe herself with magic, why don't these idiots ask Dr. Strange or Kurt's magical relatives or one of the tons of other mystics they know?
And the entire reason for this conflict is so dumb. Apparently mutant kind is on the verge of extinction again because the terrigen mist killed so many of them (It never did that before) and sterilized them. Don't care; this must be the 6th time, so why should I still give a damn?
And while I can believe Jean not knowing this, the images from Storm's brain show giant mass demonstrations in Washington DC and who knows how many maps and Jean did not notice that?
And just to continue the lazy writing: Nightcrawler spouts bible verses while fighting… because this franchise had soooo many good stories with that concept and apparently knows the bible soooo well. In fact this here sounds as if they just took them from some movies. You would think with all the creatards in the USA they would at least get the Bible right.
Furthermore:
1) If they really wanted to have it a surprise that Logan is back (of course he is), maybe they should not have shown him on the cover or show his claws long before his face.
2) So far this is pretty bland, I guess if you were invested in that whole looming extinction thing you might enjoy this, but I saw it so often that I don't care.
3) Jean is a moron. God knows how many people have ways of detecting mutants and she thinks she can just lay low and everything will be fine.
4) Apart from the fact that I wonder why on earth a teleporter like Kurt could not escape his pursuers who have no teleporting or telepathy on their own, there is also the question why on earth you put a mutant detecting system to help find all remaining mutants into a sentinel shell and not at least make it look different. Do you want people to freak out?"
Actually the inhuman mistaken for a mutant being afraid of Jean because she is a mutant is the only believable thing here. When you look like the guy you would not be as openly visible as he is and the fact that Jean needed this to make her join the X-Men shows the dumbness of the writers. Based on the last issue alone, masses of humans are in a genocidal rage, aka the USA now surpassed the Third Reich in terms of racism.
But to add even more stupidity to the mix:
Of course Mr. Sinister's hideout is in Manhattan. Great idea, hiding where all sorts of monsters go through the sewers and all kinds of superbeings patrol the streets on an hourly basis. Where the writers really that lazy? You can't even say that it's a time thing since Illyana can easily teleport around the world.
Furthermore, to create a safe haven for mutants they send the school to Limbo? That dimension where pretty much everything you see wants to kill you? And their only defense is Illyana's power, which is gone once she is unconscious? This is not just a "bad" idea, this downright suicidal. What writer/editor thought this makes any sense?
And to just shove Wolverine down our throat, this future Wolverine killed all of the X-Men, and considered the corpses around him, these were some damn big powerhouses. I guess average fans would like this, but for me this is one of many reasons why I started despising the X-Men comics. The constant plotholes, the inept writing, the fact that the characters always stay the same and this goddamn Wolverine worship. This is just bad.
I don't know what the dumbest and most contrived part of this scenario is. Kurt constantly shouting bible verses, the Terrigen mist suddenly being lethal to all mutants apparently even though it never had this severe effect before, or the fact that Sinister is trying to combine mutant with Inhuman DNA and doesn't manage to it, when there are already mutant/Inhuman crosses in existence. And if Sinister can clone mutants, why isn't he using clones first to test the terrigen mist on them? Oh right, because he is "evil" and the writing is shit. And it is not even difficult to fix that, just put in some speech bubbles to explain. Not that it matters since the guy goes from "I want to save the mutant species" to "since his mutant/inhuman hybrid failed he says mutants cannot be saved" in mere seconds.
And why wouldn't Storm get into the leader thing? She was a leader before. Also, I know this is supposed to be part of this "All-New All-Different Marvel" thing, but so far I notice no difference, as they directly reference tons of stuff from before. Sure there is tons of plotholes and contradictions, but they were present constantly before as well. So everything is pretty much how it always was.
Boy this was boring. Is Marvel even capable of writing good stories?
This was just totally stupid, and screams of being forced. And trust me, that was obvious just from the first few pages. You see, I am pretty sure that Illyana could have teleported that family out of there quicker and so would not get shot and not killed a bunch of people. Because if mutants are feared once again so much, her actions will only make it worse. I get that she would ask the little girl if she wants to come with her, but could she not have done that later? Not to mention that they talk about this being "after what Scott did." Wasn't Illyana also part of his team of phoenix power X-Men? Or was there something else that he did? Because if the former did not make people freak out I wonder what did.
Plus if Illyana cannot keep the X-haven safe herself with magic, why don't these idiots ask Dr. Strange or Kurt's magical relatives or one of the tons of other mystics they know?
And the entire reason for this conflict is so dumb. Apparently mutant kind is on the verge of extinction again because the terrigen mist killed so many of them (It never did that before) and sterilized them. Don't care; this must be the 6th time, so why should I still give a damn?
And while I can believe Jean not knowing this, the images from Storm's brain show giant mass demonstrations in Washington DC and who knows how many maps and Jean did not notice that?
And just to continue the lazy writing: Nightcrawler spouts bible verses while fighting… because this franchise had soooo many good stories with that concept and apparently knows the bible soooo well. In fact this here sounds as if they just took them from some movies. You would think with all the creatards in the USA they would at least get the Bible right.
Furthermore:
1) If they really wanted to have it a surprise that Logan is back (of course he is), maybe they should not have shown him on the cover or show his claws long before his face.
2) So far this is pretty bland, I guess if you were invested in that whole looming extinction thing you might enjoy this, but I saw it so often that I don't care.
3) Jean is a moron. God knows how many people have ways of detecting mutants and she thinks she can just lay low and everything will be fine.
4) Apart from the fact that I wonder why on earth a teleporter like Kurt could not escape his pursuers who have no teleporting or telepathy on their own, there is also the question why on earth you put a mutant detecting system to help find all remaining mutants into a sentinel shell and not at least make it look different. Do you want people to freak out?"
Actually the inhuman mistaken for a mutant being afraid of Jean because she is a mutant is the only believable thing here. When you look like the guy you would not be as openly visible as he is and the fact that Jean needed this to make her join the X-Men shows the dumbness of the writers. Based on the last issue alone, masses of humans are in a genocidal rage, aka the USA now surpassed the Third Reich in terms of racism.
But to add even more stupidity to the mix:
Of course Mr. Sinister's hideout is in Manhattan. Great idea, hiding where all sorts of monsters go through the sewers and all kinds of superbeings patrol the streets on an hourly basis. Where the writers really that lazy? You can't even say that it's a time thing since Illyana can easily teleport around the world.
Furthermore, to create a safe haven for mutants they send the school to Limbo? That dimension where pretty much everything you see wants to kill you? And their only defense is Illyana's power, which is gone once she is unconscious? This is not just a "bad" idea, this downright suicidal. What writer/editor thought this makes any sense?
And to just shove Wolverine down our throat, this future Wolverine killed all of the X-Men, and considered the corpses around him, these were some damn big powerhouses. I guess average fans would like this, but for me this is one of many reasons why I started despising the X-Men comics. The constant plotholes, the inept writing, the fact that the characters always stay the same and this goddamn Wolverine worship. This is just bad.
I don't know what the dumbest and most contrived part of this scenario is. Kurt constantly shouting bible verses, the Terrigen mist suddenly being lethal to all mutants apparently even though it never had this severe effect before, or the fact that Sinister is trying to combine mutant with Inhuman DNA and doesn't manage to it, when there are already mutant/Inhuman crosses in existence. And if Sinister can clone mutants, why isn't he using clones first to test the terrigen mist on them? Oh right, because he is "evil" and the writing is shit. And it is not even difficult to fix that, just put in some speech bubbles to explain. Not that it matters since the guy goes from "I want to save the mutant species" to "since his mutant/inhuman hybrid failed he says mutants cannot be saved" in mere seconds.
And why wouldn't Storm get into the leader thing? She was a leader before. Also, I know this is supposed to be part of this "All-New All-Different Marvel" thing, but so far I notice no difference, as they directly reference tons of stuff from before. Sure there is tons of plotholes and contradictions, but they were present constantly before as well. So everything is pretty much how it always was.
Boy this was boring. Is Marvel even capable of writing good stories?
March 7, 2017
Esta nueva serie surge tras la muerte de Cyclops y se enfoca en la conformación de un nuevo grupo liderado por Tormenta, que nunca me ha parecido una buena líder de los X-Men. Ella va reuniendo el equipo conformado por Iceman, el Viejo Logan, Jean Grey, Magic y su hermano Coloso.
Rescatando mutantes Magik encuentra a Sapna, una india al parecer con poderes oscuros. Ahora todos viven en X-Haven una ciudad creada en el mismo Limbo por Magik para resguardar a los mutantes de las nieblas terrígenas de los Inhumanos que matan a aquel mutante que tiene contacto con ellas.
Rescatando mutantes Magik encuentra a Sapna, una india al parecer con poderes oscuros. Ahora todos viven en X-Haven una ciudad creada en el mismo Limbo por Magik para resguardar a los mutantes de las nieblas terrígenas de los Inhumanos que matan a aquel mutante que tiene contacto con ellas.
May 30, 2016
The X-Men at this point remind me of the closing seconds of a Candy Crush level - desperate random reshuffles of the same pieces with the clock running visibly down, hoping to luck on to a winning formation. A post Secret Wars time jump allows for yet another status quo reset, this time back to roughly the point we were at a decade ago, with mutants sterilised, dying off, hated and feared, and so on. The Inhumans are at the bottom of it - lampshading the general fan sense (whether true or false) that Marvel are pushing those characters and concepts at the expense of their mutant properties.
The post House of M status quo took Marvel a decade or so to shake off - ten years of creators doing their best with a sidelined franchise and often telling good stories despite that. And now here we go again, with Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos spinning a yarn about Mister Sinister. But this feels like a relaunch too far, even with talented creators on board. Nothing about the results seems born of enthusiasm, from the opening get-the-team together plotting to the closing speech about overcoming bigotry. We've seen everything before. For the first time since 2000, X-Men feels like a comic Marvel has to publish more than it wants to. It might be time for a well earned rest.
The post House of M status quo took Marvel a decade or so to shake off - ten years of creators doing their best with a sidelined franchise and often telling good stories despite that. And now here we go again, with Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos spinning a yarn about Mister Sinister. But this feels like a relaunch too far, even with talented creators on board. Nothing about the results seems born of enthusiasm, from the opening get-the-team together plotting to the closing speech about overcoming bigotry. We've seen everything before. For the first time since 2000, X-Men feels like a comic Marvel has to publish more than it wants to. It might be time for a well earned rest.
February 5, 2017
I only gave it the 4th star based on the final chapter, it looked like it was going in a very stupid direction but turned out it was just messing with the reader.
Mutants have always represented some minority and in this there's some comparison of mutants with refugees, nice that they're keeping up with the times.
Some of the art is a little iffy for me, not a fan of Storm's low hanging trousers. I don't mind her showing some flesh but she doesn't visually project the kind of gravitas and power that she shows in her dialogue and actions.
Wolverine is also in this which i'm naturally biased against, he's so ubiquitous. The version here, 'Old Man Logan' is fairly tolerable though.
Pretty decent as an opening gambit.
CONTEXT EDIT: The only X-Men comics i've read previously are the Essential series of reprints, so everything up until the early nineties.
Mutants have always represented some minority and in this there's some comparison of mutants with refugees, nice that they're keeping up with the times.
Some of the art is a little iffy for me, not a fan of Storm's low hanging trousers. I don't mind her showing some flesh but she doesn't visually project the kind of gravitas and power that she shows in her dialogue and actions.
Wolverine is also in this which i'm naturally biased against, he's so ubiquitous. The version here, 'Old Man Logan' is fairly tolerable though.
Pretty decent as an opening gambit.
CONTEXT EDIT: The only X-Men comics i've read previously are the Essential series of reprints, so everything up until the early nineties.
November 27, 2025
There isn't an original idea in this collection. The Terrigen Mist is the end of mutantdom is very much M Day/Endangered Species via The Legacy Virus storyline. The use of Old Man Logan to fill in for Wolverine is an absolutely boring choice. Time travelling mutant has intimacy issues due to killing all of the X-Men is very X-Men 1991. Toss them all together and throw the new mutant haven being in Limbo, and you have a limp shrug of a story.
If you've never read an X-book before, you might want to check this out, as Lemire is a competent writer, but if you're already famliar with much of the X corner of the Marvel Universe than this will only make you nostalgic for the better written stories that it emulates.
If you've never read an X-book before, you might want to check this out, as Lemire is a competent writer, but if you're already famliar with much of the X corner of the Marvel Universe than this will only make you nostalgic for the better written stories that it emulates.
July 4, 2020
It’s like a repeat of the 90s legacy virus arc. In fact, everything seems rehashed.
To top it off, there’s almost no explanation of what’s happened since Secret Wars. We know Cyclops died fighting the Inhumans and that people are still struggling with the events of Inhumanity... but that’s pretty much it.
Mediocre art... I think the only reason this earned a 3 is because I enjoyed seeing Old Man Logan and Sinister. Definitely a week start to the All-New, All-Difference mutant runs.
To top it off, there’s almost no explanation of what’s happened since Secret Wars. We know Cyclops died fighting the Inhumans and that people are still struggling with the events of Inhumanity... but that’s pretty much it.
Mediocre art... I think the only reason this earned a 3 is because I enjoyed seeing Old Man Logan and Sinister. Definitely a week start to the All-New, All-Difference mutant runs.
April 6, 2019
2015's Extraordinary X-Men was yet another series relaunch for Marvel's mightiest mutants, this one coming on the heels of Brian Michael Bendis's departure from the X-Books and Jonathan Hickman's epic Infinity and Secret Wars events, one of which (it's been a few years since I read those and I don't remember which) saw the Inhumans launch Terrigen Mist into Earth's atmosphere. The mist unlocks latent genetic gifts in humanity, randomly turning people into Inhumans. It's also put mutants back in the cross-hairs of extinction, sterilizing them and halting the birth of new mutants.
Post-Secret Wars, the X-Men are scattered and all but disbanded. Storm is the leader and is basically now running a massive humanitarian effort to provide mutants with shelter and protection from a world that hates and fears them. Mankind sees little difference between Inhumans and mutants, lashing out at them with indiscriminate violence fueled by the fear of Terrigen Mist pathogens. With violence against mutants escalating, Storm realizes its time to put the band back together and sets out to reassemble her team, starting with the time-displaced teenage Jean Grey (it's a long story) and time-displaced Old Man Logan (also a long story, made longer given the fact that the current era's Logan is recently deceased!).
Jeff Lemire does a fine job setting the stage for this new series, and giving readers enough context for the shape of the reconstructed All-New All-Different Marvel world the X-Men find themselves in after Hickman's reality-breaking Secret Wars. It's also a bit of a reset for mutantkind in general, with issues of bigotry and prejudice that defined so much of the various X-Men books' backbones returning as a central in-your-face theme. Mutants are once again derided, attacked, scorned, hated, and persecuted for being different. Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 1: X-Haven has an unmistakable social consciousness to it that not only harkens back to the book's original mission statement of the 1960s, but sadly reflects contemporary issues as well, proving yet again that no matter how much things change, the more they stay the same.
While Lemire packs in plenty of action beats, I really appreciated the softer, tender character beats, particularly between Old Man Logan and Young Jean Grey. With a not insignificant age gap separating them, the sexual tension that once sparked between their contemporary counterparts is blessedly absent and replaced with a paternal affection. It doesn't hurt any that Old Man Logan once slaughtered the entire team and, now finding himself mysteriously trapped in the past, feels more than a bit of apprehension at reconnecting with his former squad-mates.
Humberto Ramos illustrates Extraordinary X-Men with his typical either you like it or you don't style. Ramos has an edgy cartoonist vibe that eschews any attempt at realistically depicting characters. Personally, I like it, for the most part, but I can certainly understand why others wouldn't. His characters are long-limbed, and everyone seems to have a Jim Carrey level of wild facial expressions with mouth not just falling open but jaws becoming utterly unhinged to illustrate how shocked somebody is. His action scenes can quickly grow confusing as panels become mired in chaos, and there were a few times I wasn't at all sure what was supposed to be happening. It's a unique style, but Ramos uses his exaggerated visuals to (mostly) great effect and his draughtsmanship is immediately distinct.
It's also about the only thing that keeps Lemire's scripts from descending into decrepit bleakness. Extraordinary X-Men is ultimately a fun adventure, but look, it's also pretty seriously dark stuff. Over the course of this trade's five issues, you get germ warfare, hate crimes, military death squads, genetic experimentation and eugenics, and hints that things have been even worse prior to page one. Lemire makes it clear that something seriously bad happened in between Secret Wars and this book's opening, and that former X-Men leader Scott Summer achieved some nefarious terror-mastermind 9/11-level notoriety that has made the whole world not just hate but despise mutants. It's heady stuff, and pitch freaking black at the thematic level.
Ramos's art and Edgar Delgado's vibrant colors, and Iceman's usual wisecracks and quips, are about all we get to really liven things up. A different penciler and colorist could have made Lemire's scripts unforgivably harsh if they were of a mind to. Instead we get a fun, upbeat tone that doesn't ignore or sideline the inherit darkness of the world these characters are facing, but rather illustrates the potential for this world to be better and show us that it can still be fun and hopeful. Yeah, the world's a giant dumpster fire, but that doesn't mean there aren't still things to enjoy and find beauty in. It's an interesting balance that's mostly successful. It helps, too, that Lemire's story itself has enough built-in drama, raises enough questions, and draws plenty of blanks that absolutely need filling in to keep the narrative hopping and lock you in for the long-term narrative arc he's building toward here. Of course, if that doesn't work for you, you can just skip ahead a handful of trades to get to yet another one of Marvel's annoyingly persistent relaunch events...
Post-Secret Wars, the X-Men are scattered and all but disbanded. Storm is the leader and is basically now running a massive humanitarian effort to provide mutants with shelter and protection from a world that hates and fears them. Mankind sees little difference between Inhumans and mutants, lashing out at them with indiscriminate violence fueled by the fear of Terrigen Mist pathogens. With violence against mutants escalating, Storm realizes its time to put the band back together and sets out to reassemble her team, starting with the time-displaced teenage Jean Grey (it's a long story) and time-displaced Old Man Logan (also a long story, made longer given the fact that the current era's Logan is recently deceased!).
Jeff Lemire does a fine job setting the stage for this new series, and giving readers enough context for the shape of the reconstructed All-New All-Different Marvel world the X-Men find themselves in after Hickman's reality-breaking Secret Wars. It's also a bit of a reset for mutantkind in general, with issues of bigotry and prejudice that defined so much of the various X-Men books' backbones returning as a central in-your-face theme. Mutants are once again derided, attacked, scorned, hated, and persecuted for being different. Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 1: X-Haven has an unmistakable social consciousness to it that not only harkens back to the book's original mission statement of the 1960s, but sadly reflects contemporary issues as well, proving yet again that no matter how much things change, the more they stay the same.
While Lemire packs in plenty of action beats, I really appreciated the softer, tender character beats, particularly between Old Man Logan and Young Jean Grey. With a not insignificant age gap separating them, the sexual tension that once sparked between their contemporary counterparts is blessedly absent and replaced with a paternal affection. It doesn't hurt any that Old Man Logan once slaughtered the entire team and, now finding himself mysteriously trapped in the past, feels more than a bit of apprehension at reconnecting with his former squad-mates.
Humberto Ramos illustrates Extraordinary X-Men with his typical either you like it or you don't style. Ramos has an edgy cartoonist vibe that eschews any attempt at realistically depicting characters. Personally, I like it, for the most part, but I can certainly understand why others wouldn't. His characters are long-limbed, and everyone seems to have a Jim Carrey level of wild facial expressions with mouth not just falling open but jaws becoming utterly unhinged to illustrate how shocked somebody is. His action scenes can quickly grow confusing as panels become mired in chaos, and there were a few times I wasn't at all sure what was supposed to be happening. It's a unique style, but Ramos uses his exaggerated visuals to (mostly) great effect and his draughtsmanship is immediately distinct.
It's also about the only thing that keeps Lemire's scripts from descending into decrepit bleakness. Extraordinary X-Men is ultimately a fun adventure, but look, it's also pretty seriously dark stuff. Over the course of this trade's five issues, you get germ warfare, hate crimes, military death squads, genetic experimentation and eugenics, and hints that things have been even worse prior to page one. Lemire makes it clear that something seriously bad happened in between Secret Wars and this book's opening, and that former X-Men leader Scott Summer achieved some nefarious terror-mastermind 9/11-level notoriety that has made the whole world not just hate but despise mutants. It's heady stuff, and pitch freaking black at the thematic level.
Ramos's art and Edgar Delgado's vibrant colors, and Iceman's usual wisecracks and quips, are about all we get to really liven things up. A different penciler and colorist could have made Lemire's scripts unforgivably harsh if they were of a mind to. Instead we get a fun, upbeat tone that doesn't ignore or sideline the inherit darkness of the world these characters are facing, but rather illustrates the potential for this world to be better and show us that it can still be fun and hopeful. Yeah, the world's a giant dumpster fire, but that doesn't mean there aren't still things to enjoy and find beauty in. It's an interesting balance that's mostly successful. It helps, too, that Lemire's story itself has enough built-in drama, raises enough questions, and draws plenty of blanks that absolutely need filling in to keep the narrative hopping and lock you in for the long-term narrative arc he's building toward here. Of course, if that doesn't work for you, you can just skip ahead a handful of trades to get to yet another one of Marvel's annoyingly persistent relaunch events...
August 3, 2017
Alright, so people complain about Lemire's Marvel work. I can see why- because of this book. This is just lack luster. I am not going to fault Lemire. I really don't think it is his fault. Marvel has gone out of their way to shatter the appeal of the X-men books, while trying to build up a set of Inhuman titles. I think at this point, they are trying to return the X-men to their former glory, but this book is the absolute nadir for the "Inhumans should be cooler than x-men" books. It is a shame. Lemire really deserved a chance to put his spin on the book. I think he could have left his mark, like Morrison, Whedon and Jason Aaron.
July 3, 2017
OK, but slight: this is an effective restart. Still, Ramos' art is always a bit too youthful and exuberant for this ol' fart. Lemire does OK scripting, but I see no great joy, here, yet. Young Jean Grey gets the most effective reintroduction, and a little mild heartbreak, too.
Great color art by Edgar Delgado, very bright palate.
Mildly recommended.
Great color art by Edgar Delgado, very bright palate.
Mildly recommended.
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